PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — January 22 marks 50 years since the U.S. Supreme court recognized the constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade.
But after the Supreme Court overturned that ruling in the Dobbs case, a local organizer used her craft to send a message.
Jen LaMastra, who has been crocheting since her grandmother taught her as a kid, said her grandmother would be sad to know a woman’s right to choose would be threatened once again.
Jen is considered a craftivist and she took to designing a massive mural made of yarn to speak out against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year. But with a vision so big, she couldn’t go it alone.
She went to Instagram, she said, and used a hashtag call to crocheters.
“I got such an amazing response and people were messaging me ‘I want to help!’,” said LaMastra.
As a result, 40 women across America collaborated to crochet a 17-foot by 11-foot mural
The mural features Lady Liberty uplifting a uterus held by the American Medical Association symbol. Three stars recognize the three dissenting justices, a pink triangle, emblematic of all people with uteruses who need reproductive healthcare and all done with crochet hooks because they were often used in back-alley abortions.
“It’s meant to be really big, as a really loud way of communicating how we feel and what we want,” said LaMastra.
The “Liberty Crochet Mural” tours the state and is currently displayed in Portland city hall.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said this beautiful form of protest signifies how rights need to be vigilantly nurtured, upheld, and supported.
“This is a great reminder that there is no right given that can’t be taken away,” said Wheeler. “The timing couldn’t be better, and the message couldn’t be more important.”
So far, people in 20 other states have replicated Jen’s liberty crochet mural.
“It’s simultaneously devastating and amazing, right?” LaMastra commented. “I hate that we have to do this. And yet it’s so moving how generous people are.”
What started off as a ball of yarn has unraveled into a nationwide movement.
“We’re using our crochet hooks, we’re using yarn, and we’re using it to amplify our voices and millions of other voices. And we’re not quiet about it,” LaMastra said. “We’re not shy. We’re really in your face, but in our soft ‘I’m a blanket, a really big blanket’ kind of way.”
If you’d like to support this movement, you can donate on their GoFundMe page.
LaMastra’s goal is to help create a mural for every single state.